The Commission today decided to start infringement procedures against Belgium, Latvia, Portugal, and Sweden by sending letters of formal notice for failing to correctly transpose EU rules on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings (Directive (EU) 2010/64).
The Directive guarantees that people who face criminal proceedings in the EU must be offered free of charge interpretation and translation into a language they understand. This is a fundamental procedural right, safeguarding the right to a fair trial. The Directive is part of the EU’s legal framework on fair trials ensuring that the rights of suspects and accused persons are sufficiently protected. The Commission considers that the transposition measures notified by Belgium, Latvia, Portugal, and Sweden do not adequately transpose the Directive and some of those measures do not comply with the Directive.
In particular, the Commission has identified shortcomings when it comes to the right to translation of essential documents and the right to interpretation of the communication between suspected or accused persons and their legal counsel. The four Member States have two months to respond to the letters of formal notice; otherwise, the Commission may decide to take the next step in the infringement procedure by sending reasoned opinions. More details about the Directive can be found in this factsheet.